Broncos' Moreno wants more in return

Running back suddenly crucial to playoff hopes

ENGLEWOOD -- For much of Knowshon Moreno's football life, being the guy with the ball in his hands was a given.

He led his high school team (Middletown, N.J.) to three state titles, he was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference player at Georgia, a first-round pick by the Broncos. He ran for 947 yards as an NFL rookie and assumed it all was another rung to climb on the ladder.

Then the Broncos signed Willis McGahee last year, and Moreno injured his knee. Moreno battled back through the spring and summer only to stand and watch his team play two months worth of games without him in uniform.

"And then you learn some things," Moreno said. "In terms of football, I think I've learned a lot about myself. I learned about doing the job, about putting in the work, doing the things I needed to do when there weren't really games at the end.

"I learned about just coming out there and working, no matter the situation or what would happen on Sunday. I think I learned to be ready for things, keep focused and keep moving in the right direction."

With McGahee's knee injury on Nov. 18, Moreno made an improbable leap up the depth chart last week. He went from the guy who had been a game day inactive for eight games, from a three-carry, one-fumble performance in Week 2 against the Falcons to the starter in Sunday's game against the Chiefs in Kansas City.

Moreno spent the previous two months running other team's plays in practice, but the Broncos saw enough to push him up the depth chart, giving him the start at Arrowhead.

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The fourth-year back finished with 85 yards rushing on 20 carries to go with four receptions for 26 yards.

A player who has had his maturity and attention to detail questioned during his first three seasons with the team earned some respect.

"First of all, the way he reacted was outstanding," Broncos coach John Fox said. "He came to work every day and did his job, had a great attitude, got his opportunity and I thought he performed well Sunday, and we'll expect more of the same this Sunday."

"I think it's an example of being a professional," Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said. "Everybody's on this roster for a reason and to serve a purpose, and Knowshon played some early in the season and then he was doing some scout team, and I know that's a humbling experience for a guy. It's a great example for any player to always be ready and take your job seriously. I was impressed with that."

Asked if he believed the Broncos decision-makers, or perhaps even some of his teammates, learned anything about him over the past two months, Moreno said: "I guess so, maybe they did. Maybe they saw some things."

Fox said Wednesday Moreno remains the team's starter in the backfield "right now." For the first time since former Broncos coach Josh McDaniels made Moreno the 12th pick of the '09 draft, Moreno finds himself with a chance to be the primary runner for a team with significant postseason aspirations.

The Broncos want -- expect really -- for him to be every bit the player the team's former personnel staff believed he would be.

"I don't think my confidence has ever been an issue," Moreno said. "You can't let yourself think like that. If you think like that, you'll never get back to where you used to be. It was never that. It was just the circumstance, just the situation the team was in.

"It's their decision, you can't really control what they decide as a staff. That was always the thing with me. It was like, OK, I've got to do what I've got to do to keep on going, and I wanted to show it wouldn't change how I went about things, that I wouldn't just back down or relax or anything."

Fox said this week it also was a matter of health, that the time away from game-day contact helped Moreno's right knee. Moreno suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament against the Chiefs last Nov. 13. Moreno made a quick enough recovery to participate in training camp and show enough to secure a roster spot when the season opened. But most players say it's often a year after such an injury, perhaps longer before they feel confident in the repaired leg.

"I don't think it's even been a year yet (since his surgery to repair the ligament)," Moreno said. "I'm not saying I'm a hundred percent right now, but I can definitely be capable of going out there and doing what I have to do. I think I can be productive right now. I feel good.

"At the same time, I've seen it, going from playing to not playing. I want to keep playing. I don't want it to be like I did some things against Kansas City or whatever one week and that's it. I want to produce every time they call my number. That's my goal."

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